The unexpectedly large widening in the September U.S. trade deficit has economists thinking the Commerce Department will make a steep downward revision to third-quarter gross domestic product growth from the initially reported 3.5% annual rate. Commerce will release its second reading of summer GDP on November 25. Read More »

October’s jobs report headlines next week’s economic data. Market observers will be watching to see if the U.S. can continue a streak of impressive job creation, and if that strength will finally lead to wage gains. But before that release, the calendar includes fresh readings on manufacturing, construction and productivity. Here are five things to watch. Read More »

The U.S. economy expanded at a 3.5% annualized pace from July through September. It marks the fourth quarter in the past five that gross domestic product grew at a pace better than 3%, a streak broken up by a first-quarter contraction.

Here are other key numbers from the Commerce Department’s report on Thursday. Read More »

The nation on Thursday gets its first look at how the U.S. economy fared during the third quarter, a period in which fears of a global growth slowdown steadily mounted, even against a backdrop of firm domestic demand. Gross domestic product advanced at a seasonally adjusted pace of 4.6% during the second quarter, offsetting the 2.1% contraction during the first quarter.

As September hands off to October, economy-watchers will be busy with potentially market-moving data on tap every day. The biggest report, of course, will be Friday’s employment report. Here are five reports that could confirm–or alter–the consensus view of the economy: Read More »

President Barack Obama and other world leaders are having a tough time selling the benefits of the trade agreements they’re negotiating, in part because much of the public thinks all the talk about trade’s benefits is a bunch of baloney.

Out of 44 nationalities surveyed this year, only one — Israelis — tends to believe the basic tenet of economists that increased trade will foster competition and deliver lower prices for consumers.

Next week’s calendar may lack the punch of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, GDP and payrolls trifecta. But upcoming reports will detail worker productivity, credit use and price pressures among service providers. New data may raise questions about that 4% spring growth surge. Here’s what to look for: Read More »

The world’s biggest economies have been quietly raising barriers at their borders since the financial crisis in an attempt to stifle trade and boost struggling domestic industries.

That is the warning from many backers of free trade, who have pointed to hundreds of new tariffs imposed by the Group of 20 leading economies, including the U.S., despite pledges from the G-20 to refrain from interrupting trade.

But the trend isn’t so simple, and there is at least some evidence the wave of protectionism could be subsiding, the World Bank said in a report Thursday. Read More »

Time was, the U.S. dominated the capital goods sector, enjoying a surplus in global trade of machinery, aircraft and computers. But those days are long gone, and the sluggishness of the global economy is making the situation worse. Read More »

Rising U.S.-Russian tensions and escalating threats of sanctions didn’t derail trade between the two Cold War rivals in March, the same month Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Exports of U.S. goods to Russia rose 9% in March from the prior month, compared to a decline in the same month last year. That’s according to non-seasonally adjusted figures deep within Tuesday’s report from the Commerce Department on international trade.

Meanwhile, imports from Russia rose 36% in March from February, stronger than the 25% monthly gain a year earlier. Read More »

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